Tuesday, October 27, 2015

It's Fall, That's All!

Yes, the leaves are turning,
temperatures are dipping - no doubt about it, it’s one of the most beautiful
times of year in my city. It’s (cue music....)

This song tells it like it really is. New York City
comes alive with new shows opening, the rich colors of wool make their appearance,
and menus now offer dishes which would have seemed like overkill just weeks ago
but now suddenly really ‘hit the spot.’

Holly Golightly might have hidden the Lula Mae
Barnes lurking in her past but I don’t bother to hide my small town roots, and
there’s no question what autumn always means to me. When I was a kid, once the
excitement of the national holiday of my July birthday had passed, I immediately
got down to business planning for the biggest, most important event on this
kid’s calendar: Halloween.

(If Peter thought the loss of that
cat mask was worth tears, he had a lot of major disappointments lurking in his
future.)

My favorite Halloween costume of
all turned out not to be when I was a kid, but just some years ago when I was
in a band that was hired for a Halloween gig and had to show up in costume. That
was my excuse to dress up as my fashion idol of the time: Amy Winehouse. (Sadly
no pictures or video seem to have survived – believe me, I looked!) Since my
personal style is a pendulum swing from hers, you really have to know me to
understand how I coveted her Ronnie-Spector-Goes-Rockabilly flair, but every
outfit really mesmerized me (right up until you couldn’t bear to look anymore).

There’s a really great documentary titled Amy out now that I have to see again,
because when I saw it every time she appeared with a new outfit I kind of
blanked on the audio. Misty, water-colored memories of the way we…she was.
Heartbreaking.

Which brings me to my theme (yes,
finally). There’s a quote of Gloria Steinem’s that I never get quite right, but
the basis of it is that every time an 81 year old woman looks in the mirror, a surprised
18 year old girl looks back. It’s very true; we never quite feel ourselves
growing older. It’s more of a “How did this happen” event, and all of a sudden
someone or some thing will happen to remind you that, yeah, you really are as
old as your teachers/parents/grandparents were. You really need to be conscious
-- to try to capture the moments.

When I was little I got one shot at a costume all
year, and I had to make that count because you better believe afterwards it
would be as hotly debated as a bride’s gown. Now every day I get up and put on
a costume: Grown Up.

So my point is…yes, I actually do have one…we’re
all pretending to be someone or something almost everyday, sometimes many times
a day, so don’t save all your creativity and wait for one day a year to pick
your costume – as Little Edie Beale would tell you, you need one every day!
Live large!

Thanks for stopping by,

Oh…what the heck. This is someone's
homemade video of Christine Ebersole as Little Edie Beale in the musical
"Grey Gardens," singing the song written about what the real Little
Edie Beale just said in the clip above. It’s really a lot of fun so I’ll tag it
on anyway just for emphasis! (Da da da da dum!) No extra charge, so enjoy!

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About Me

I grew up in a small town, but from the time I was five I knew I was destined to live in New York City. Here I am, and not a day goes by that I don't stop to think how lucky I am that my biggest dream came true. (Yes, I realize Manhattan may not be for you. Frankly, we don't have room for all of you.) I've lived a lot, experienced a lot, screwed up a lot, and learned a lot. I've had fun with the glitterati, sprinkled my own brand of glitter having high times with low lifes, and found my place was somewhere in between. I wake up every morning eager to see what each new day will bring and what I'll wear. There's always another adventure on my horizon.